Heilongjiang ()
formerly romanized as Heilungkiang, is a
province
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...
in
northeast China
Northeast China or Northeastern China () is a geographical region of China, which is often referred to as "Manchuria" or "Inner Manchuria" by surrounding countries and the West. It usually corresponds specifically to the three provinces east of t ...
. The standard one-character abbreviation for the province is (). It was formerly romanized as "Heilungkiang". It is the northernmost and easternmost province of the country and contains China's northernmost point (in
Mohe City
Mohe () is a county-level city in Daxing'anling Prefecture, Heilongjiang province. It is the northernmost city in China.
Administrative divisions
Mohe City is divided into 6 towns:
Geography
Mohe is located in the far northwest of Heilon ...
along the Amur) and easternmost point (at the junction of the
Amur
The Amur (russian: река́ Аму́р, ), or Heilong Jiang (, "Black Dragon River", ), is the world's List of longest rivers, tenth longest river, forming the border between the Russian Far East and Northeast China, Northeastern China (Inne ...
and
Ussuri
The Ussuri or Wusuli (russian: Уссури; ) is a river that runs through Khabarovsk and Primorsky Krais, Russia and the southeast region of Northeast China. It rises in the Sikhote-Alin mountain range, flowing north and forming part of the Si ...
rivers).
The province is bordered by
Jilin
Jilin (; alternately romanized as Kirin or Chilin) is one of the three provinces of Northeast China. Its capital and largest city is Changchun. Jilin borders North Korea (Rasŏn, North Hamgyong, Ryanggang and Chagang) and Russia (Prim ...
to the south and
Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. Its border includes most of the length of China's border with the country of Mongolia. Inner Mongolia also accounts for a ...
to the west. It also
shares a border with
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
(
Amur Oblast
Amur Oblast ( rus, Аму́рская о́бласть, r=Amurskaya oblast, p=ɐˈmurskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located on the banks of the Amur and Zeya Rivers in the Russian Far East. The administrative ...
,
Jewish Autonomous Oblast
The Jewish Autonomous Oblast (JAO; russian: Евре́йская автоно́мная о́бласть, (ЕАО); yi, ייִדישע אװטאָנאָמע געגנט, ; )In standard Yiddish: , ''Yidishe Oytonome Gegnt'' is a federal subject ...
,
Khabarovsk Krai
Khabarovsk Krai ( rus, Хабаровский край, r=Khabarovsky kray, p=xɐˈbarəfskʲɪj kraj) is a federal subject (a krai) of Russia. It is geographically located in the Russian Far East and is a part of the Far Eastern Federal District ...
,
Primorsky Krai
Primorsky Krai (russian: Приморский край, r=Primorsky kray, p=prʲɪˈmorskʲɪj kraj), informally known as Primorye (, ), is a federal subject (a krai) of Russia, located in the Far East region of the country and is a part of the ...
and
Zabaykalsky Krai
Zabaykalsky Krai ( rus, Забайкальский край, r=Zabaikal'skii krai, p=zəbɐjˈkalʲskʲɪj kraj, lit. "Transbaikal krai"; bua, Yбэр Байгалай хизаар, Uber Baigalai Xizaar) is a federal subject of Russia (a krai) t ...
) to the north and east. The capital and the largest city of the province is
Harbin
Harbin (; mnc, , v=Halbin; ) is a sub-provincial city and the provincial capital and the largest city of Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China, as well as the second largest city by urban population after Shenyang and largest ...
. Among Chinese provincial-level
administrative divisions
Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...
, Heilongjiang is the
sixth-largest by total area, the
15th-most populous, and the
second-poorest by GDP per capita.
The province takes its name from the
Amur River
The Amur (russian: река́ Аму́р, ), or Heilong Jiang (, "Black Dragon River", ), is the world's List of longest rivers, tenth longest river, forming the border between the Russian Far East and Northeast China, Northeastern China (Inne ...
(see the etymology section below for details) which marks
the border between the
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
and
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
.
Heilongjiang has significant agricultural production,
and raw materials, such as timber, oil and coal.
Etymology
The province takes its name from the
Amur River
The Amur (russian: река́ Аму́р, ), or Heilong Jiang (, "Black Dragon River", ), is the world's List of longest rivers, tenth longest river, forming the border between the Russian Far East and Northeast China, Northeastern China (Inne ...
, whose Mandarin name is ''Heilongjiang'' which is a literal and same-word-order translation of "black
dragon
A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...
river". ''Hei'' comes from qara/hara/har, a common
Altaic language
Altaic (; also called Transeurasian) is a controversial proposed language family that would include the Turkic, Mongolic and Tungusic language families and possibly also the Japonic and Koreanic languages. Speakers of these languages are c ...
cognate
In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words in different languages that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymology, etymological ancestor in a proto-language, common parent language. Because language c ...
meaning "black". ''Long'' comes from the Mandarin word for "dragon". ''Jiang'' means "river" in Mandarin.
History
![Saint Sofia Church](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9f/Saint_Sofia_Church.jpg)
Ancient Chinese records and other sources state that Heilongjiang was inhabited by people such as the
Sushen
Sushen is the modern Chinese name for an ancient ethnic group of people who lived in the northeastern part of China (in the area of modern Jilin and Heilongjiang) and what is in modern times the Russian Maritime Province and some other Siberi ...
,
Buyeo
Buyeo or Puyŏ (Korean: 부여; Korean pronunciation: u.jʌ or 扶餘 ''Fúyú''), also rendered as Fuyu, was an ancient kingdom that was centered in northern Manchuria in modern-day northeast China. It is sometimes considered a Korean ki ...
, the
Mohe, and the
Khitan.
Mongol
The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member of ...
ic
Donghu people
Donghu (; IPA: ; ) or Hu (; IPA: ) Pulleyblank E. G. (1994) “Ji Hu: Indigenous Inhabitants of Shaanbei and Western Shanxi,” in Edward H. Kaplan, ed.,'' Opuscula Altaica: Essays presented in honor of Henry Schwarz''. ed. by. Bellingham: Western ...
lived in
Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. Its border includes most of the length of China's border with the country of Mongolia. Inner Mongolia also accounts for a ...
and the western part of Heilongjiang. Some names are Manchu or Mongolian. The eastern portion of Heilongjiang was ruled by the
Bohai Kingdom
Balhae ( ko, 발해, zh, c=渤海, p=Bóhǎi, russian: Бохай, translit=Bokhay, ), also rendered as Bohai, was a multi-ethnic kingdom whose land extends to what is today Northeast China, the Korean Peninsula and the Russian Far East. It wa ...
between the 7th and 10th centuries, followed by the Khitan
Liao dynasty
The Liao dynasty (; Khitan: ''Mos Jælud''; ), also known as the Khitan Empire (Khitan: ''Mos diau-d kitai huldʒi gur''), officially the Great Liao (), was an imperial dynasty of China that existed between 916 and 1125, ruled by the Yelü ...
. The Jurchen
Jin dynasty (1115–1234)
The Jin dynasty (,
; ) or Jin State (; Jurchen: Anchun Gurun), officially known as the Great Jin (), was an imperial dynasty of China that existed between 1115 and 1234. Its name is sometimes written as Kin, Jurchen Jin, Jinn, or Chin
in ...
that subsequently ruled much of north China arose within the borders of modern Heilongjiang.
![CEM-44-La-Chine-la-Tartarie-Chinoise-et-le-Thibet-1734-Amur-2572](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/63/CEM-44-La-Chine-la-Tartarie-Chinoise-et-le-Thibet-1734-Amur-2572.jpg)
Heilongjiang as an administrative entity was created in 1683, during the
Kangxi
The Kangxi Emperor (4 May 1654– 20 December 1722), also known by his temple name Emperor Shengzu of Qing, born Xuanye, was the third emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1661 to 1 ...
era of the
Manchu
The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) and ...
Qing Dynasty
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...
, from the northwestern part of the
Jilin
Jilin (; alternately romanized as Kirin or Chilin) is one of the three provinces of Northeast China. Its capital and largest city is Changchun. Jilin borders North Korea (Rasŏn, North Hamgyong, Ryanggang and Chagang) and Russia (Prim ...
province.
This Heilongjiang Province only included the western part of today's Heilongjiang Province, and was under the supervision of the General of Heilongjiang (Sahaliyan Ula i Jiyanggiyūn) (the title is also translated as the Military Governor of Heilongjiang; ''jiyanggiyūn'' is the Manchu reading of the Chinese word ; "military leader, general" and is cognate with
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
''
shōgun
, officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakur ...
''), whose power extended, according to the
Treaty of Nerchinsk
The Treaty of Nerchinsk () of 1689 was the first treaty between the Tsardom of Russia and the Qing dynasty of China. The Russians gave up the area north of the Amur River as far as the Stanovoy Range and kept the area between the Argun River ...
, as far north as the
Stanovoy Mountains
The Stanovoy Range (russian: Станово́й хребе́т, ''Stanovoy khrebet''; sah, Сир кура; ), is a mountain range located in the Sakha Republic and Amur Oblast, Far Eastern Federal District. It is also known as Sükebayatur a ...
. The eastern part of what's today Heilongjiang remained under the supervision of the General of Jilin (Girin i Jiyanggiyūn), whose power reached the
Sea of Japan
The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it h ...
. These areas deep in
Manchuria
Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endo demonym " Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East (Outer Manc ...
were closed off to
Han Chinese
The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctive va ...
migration.
The original seat of the Military Governor of Heilongjiang, as established in 1683, was in Heilongjiang City (also known as
Aigun
Aigun (; Manchu: ''aihūn hoton''; ) was a historic Chinese town in northern Manchuria, situated on the right bank of the Amur River, some south (downstream) from the central urban area of Heihe (which is across the Amur from the mouth of the Z ...
or
Heihe
Heihe (; ; Russian: Хэйхэ) is a prefecture-level city of northern Heilongjiang province, China, located on the Russian border, on the south bank of the Amur (Heilong) River, across the river from Blagoveshchensk. At the 2020 census, 1,2 ...
, or, in
Manchu
The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) and ...
, Saghalien Ula), located on the Amur River. However, already in 1690 the seat of the governor was transferred to
Nenjiang (Mergen) on the
Nen River
The Nen River or Nenjiang (), or Nonni () is a river in Northeast China. The Nen River flows through the northern part of Heilongjiang Province and the northeastern section of Inner Mongolia, some parts of the river forming the border between the ...
, and, in 1699, further south to
Qiqihar
Qiqihar () is the second-largest city in the Heilongjiang province of China, in the west central part of the province. The built-up (or metro) area made up of Longsha, Tiefeng and Jianhua districts had 959,787 inhabitants, while the total populat ...
. According to modern historians, the moves may have been driven by supply considerations: Nenjiang and Qiqihar are connected by a convenient waterway (Nen River) with southern Manchuria, whereas accessing Aigun (Heihe) would require either sailing all the way down the
Sungari River
The Songhua or Sunghwa River (also Haixi or Xingal, russian: Сунгари ''Sungari'') is one of the primary rivers of China, and the longest tributary of the Amur. It flows about from the Changbai Mountains on the China–North Korea bord ...
until its confluence with the Amur and then up the Amur to Heihe, or using a
portage
Portage or portaging (Canada: ; ) is the practice of carrying water craft or cargo over land, either around an obstacle in a river, or between two bodies of water. A path where items are regularly carried between bodies of water is also called a ...
over the Lesser Xing'an Mountains between the Nen River valley and the Amur valley. An additional advantage of Qiqihar may have been its location at the junction of a northbound road (to Nenjiang) and a westbound one (to Mongolia), enabling its garrison to defend both against the Russians and the Ölöt
Mongols
The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal membe ...
.
Little Qing Military presence existed north of Aigun. According to the 18th- and early-20th-century European sources and the reports of the Russians in the 1850s, the farthest Qing "advance guard" post was at Ulusu-Modon (Ulussu-Mudan) ( ''Wūlǔsūmùdān''), near the Amur River's famous S-shaped meander. (The post was on the left (north) bank of the river, lost to the Russians in 1860.)
In 1858 and 1860, the
Qing
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speaki ...
government was
forced to give up all land beyond the
Amur
The Amur (russian: река́ Аму́р, ), or Heilong Jiang (, "Black Dragon River", ), is the world's List of longest rivers, tenth longest river, forming the border between the Russian Far East and Northeast China, Northeastern China (Inne ...
and
Ussuri
The Ussuri or Wusuli (russian: Уссури; ) is a river that runs through Khabarovsk and Primorsky Krais, Russia and the southeast region of Northeast China. It rises in the Sikhote-Alin mountain range, flowing north and forming part of the Si ...
Rivers to the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
, cutting off the Qing Empire from the
Sea of Japan
The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it h ...
and giving Heilongjiang its present northern and eastern borders. At the same time,
Manchuria
Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endo demonym " Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East (Outer Manc ...
was opened to
Han Chinese
The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctive va ...
migration by the
Qing
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speaki ...
government. By the early twentieth century, due to the ''
Chuang Guandong
''Chuang Guandong'' (; IPA: ; literally "Crashing into Guandong" with ''Guandong'' being an older name for Manchuria) is descriptive of the rush of Han people into Manchuria, mainly from the Shandong Peninsula and Zhili, during the hundred-year per ...
'', the
Han Chinese
The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctive va ...
had become the dominant ethnic group in the region.
In 1931, Japanese forces
invaded
An invasion is a military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitical entity aggressively enter territory owned by another such entity, generally with the objective of either: conquering; liberating or re-establishing con ...
Heilongjiang. In 1932, the Japanese completed their conquest of the province, which became part of the
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
ese
puppet state
A puppet state, puppet régime, puppet government or dummy government, is a State (polity), state that is ''de jure'' independent but ''de facto'' completely dependent upon an outside Power (international relations), power and subject to its o ...
of
Manchukuo
Manchukuo, officially the State of Manchuria prior to 1934 and the Empire of (Great) Manchuria after 1934, was a puppet state of the Empire of Japan in Northeast China, Manchuria from 1932 until 1945. It was founded as a republic in 1932 afte ...
.
In 1945, Japanese forces in Manchuria were
defeated by the Soviet Army. During the
Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on m ...
, Soviet forces aided the Chinese communists. Heilongjiang became the first province to be completely controlled by the communists and
Harbin
Harbin (; mnc, , v=Halbin; ) is a sub-provincial city and the provincial capital and the largest city of Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China, as well as the second largest city by urban population after Shenyang and largest ...
the first major city to be controlled by them.
At the beginning of communist rule, Heilongjiang included only the western portion of the present-day province, and had its capital at Qiqihar. The remaining area was the
province of Songjiang; its capital was Harbin. In 1954, these two provinces were merged into present-day Heilongjiang. During the
Cultural Revolution
The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goal ...
, Heilongjiang was also expanded to include
Hulunbuir League
Hulunbuir or Hulun Buir ( mn, , ''Kölün buyir'', Mongolian Cyrillic: Хөлөнбуйр, ''Khölönbuir''; zh, s=呼伦贝尔, ''Hūlúnbèi'ěr'') is a region that is governed as a prefecture-level city in northeastern Inner Mongolia, China. ...
and some other areas previously in
Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. Its border includes most of the length of China's border with the country of Mongolia. Inner Mongolia also accounts for a ...
; this has since mostly been reversed.
Geography
Heilongjiang is a land of varied topographies. Much of the province is dominated by mountain ranges such as the
Greater Khingan
The Greater Khingan Range or Da Hinggan Range (; IPA: ), is a -long volcanic mountain range in the Inner Mongolia region of Northeast China.
It was originally called the Xianbei Mountains, which later became the name of the northern branch of th ...
Range and
Lesser Khingan
Lesser Khingan (; russian: Малый Хинган, ''Maly Khingan'') is a mountain range in China's Heilongjiang province and the adjacent parts of Russia's Amur Oblast and Jewish Autonomous Oblast. Range,
Zhangguangcai Mountains,
Laoye Mountains, and
Wanda Mountains. The highest peak is
Datudingzi Mountain
Datudingzi Mountain or Datudingzi Shan (), also known as Mount Datudingzi, abbreviated as "Mt. Datudingzi", is the highest point of Heilongjiang province , located about 170 kilometers southeast of Wuchang County, Harbin City, Heilongjiang Prov ...
at , located on the border with
Jilin
Jilin (; alternately romanized as Kirin or Chilin) is one of the three provinces of Northeast China. Its capital and largest city is Changchun. Jilin borders North Korea (Rasŏn, North Hamgyong, Ryanggang and Chagang) and Russia (Prim ...
province. The Greater Khingan Range contains China's largest remaining virgin forest and is an important area for China's forestry industry.
The east and southwest of the province, which are relatively flat and low in altitude, feature the
Muling River Muling or Muren () is a river in Northeast China, a left tributary of the Ussuri.
Its length is , and its basin area is approximately . Jixi and Hulin are located on Muling River.
The area of the river is known by Sino-Soviet conflict (1929) and ...
, the
Naoli River
The long Naoli () River flows through Heilongjiang Province in northeast China and is the longest tributary to the river Ussuri
The Ussuri or Wusuli (russian: Уссури; ) is a river that runs through Khabarovsk and Primorsky Krais, Russia ...
, the
Songhua River
The Songhua Postal Romanization, or Sunghwa River (also Haixi or Xingal, russian: Сунгари ''Sungari'') is one of the primary List of rivers of China, rivers of China, and the longest tributary of the Amur. It flows about from the Chang ...
, the
Nen River
The Nen River or Nenjiang (), or Nonni () is a river in Northeast China. The Nen River flows through the northern part of Heilongjiang Province and the northeastern section of Inner Mongolia, some parts of the river forming the border between the ...
, and the
Mudan River
The Mudan River (; IPA: ; ) is a river in Heilongjiang province in China. It is a right tributary of the Sunggari River.
Its modern Chinese name can be translated as the "Peony River". In the past it was also known as the Hurka or Hurha River ...
, all tributaries of the
Amur
The Amur (russian: река́ Аму́р, ), or Heilong Jiang (, "Black Dragon River", ), is the world's List of longest rivers, tenth longest river, forming the border between the Russian Far East and Northeast China, Northeastern China (Inne ...
, while the northern border forms part of the
Amur
The Amur (russian: река́ Аму́р, ), or Heilong Jiang (, "Black Dragon River", ), is the world's List of longest rivers, tenth longest river, forming the border between the Russian Far East and Northeast China, Northeastern China (Inne ...
valley.
Xingkai Lake
Lake Khanka (russian: о́зеро Ха́нка) or Lake Xingkai (), is a freshwater lake on the border between Primorsky Krai, Russia and Heilongjiang province, Northeast China (at ).
Etymology
On the Delisle map of 1706, the lake is named ...
(or
Khanka Lake
Lake Khanka (russian: о́зеро Ха́нка) or Lake Xingkai (), is a freshwater lake on the border between Primorsky Krai, Russia and Heilongjiang province, Northeast China (at ).
Etymology
On the Delisle map of 1706, the lake is named ...
) is found on the border with
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
's
Primorsky Krai
Primorsky Krai (russian: Приморский край, r=Primorsky kray, p=prʲɪˈmorskʲɪj kraj), informally known as Primorye (, ), is a federal subject (a krai) of Russia, located in the Far East region of the country and is a part of the ...
.
Climate
![雾凇 QQ696847 - panoramio](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/69/%E9%9B%BE%E5%87%87_QQ696847_-_panoramio.jpg)
A
humid continental climate
A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...
''Dwa'' or ''Dwb'') predominates in the province, though areas in the far north are
subarctic
The subarctic zone is a region in the Northern Hemisphere immediately south of the true Arctic, north of humid continental regions and covering much of Alaska, Canada, Iceland, the north of Scandinavia, Siberia, and the Cairngorms. Generally, ...
(Köppen ''Dwc''). Winters are long and bitter, with an average of in January, and summers are short and warm to very warm with an average of in July. The annual average rainfall is , concentrated heavily in summer. Clear weather is prevalent throughout the year, and in the spring, the
Songnen Plain
The Songnen Plain () in Northeast China is named after the Songhua and Nenjiang Rivers and is connected to the Sanjiang Plain through the Songhua River Valley; a small plain lies north of Xingkai Lake
Lake Khanka (russian: о́зеро Ха́ ...
and the
Sanjiang Plain The Sanjiang Plain includes the Amur River (also known as the Heilong, or literally, "Black Dragon" or River), Songhua and Ussuri (also known as the Wusuli) rivers and covers 23 counties in Heilongjiang Province, China encompassing about 109,000&nb ...
provide abundant sources of wind energy.
The province's largest cities include
Harbin
Harbin (; mnc, , v=Halbin; ) is a sub-provincial city and the provincial capital and the largest city of Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China, as well as the second largest city by urban population after Shenyang and largest ...
,
Qiqihar
Qiqihar () is the second-largest city in the Heilongjiang province of China, in the west central part of the province. The built-up (or metro) area made up of Longsha, Tiefeng and Jianhua districts had 959,787 inhabitants, while the total populat ...
,
Mudanjiang
Mudanjiang (; Manchu
The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later ...
,
Jiamusi
Jiamusi (Manchu: ; formerly Kiamusze) is a prefecture-level city in eastern Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China. Located along the middle and lower reaches of the Songhua River, it faces Russia's Khabarovsk Krai across the Ussuri R ...
,
Daqing
Daqing (; alternately romanized as Taching) is a prefecture-level city in the west of Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China. The name literally means "Great Celebration". Daqing is known as the "Oil Capital of China" and has experi ...
,
Jixi
Jixi () is a city in southeastern Heilongjiang Province, People's Republic of China. At the 2020 census, 1,502,060 people resided within its administrative area of and 560,118 in its built-up (''or metro'') area made up of 3 out of 6 urban dis ...
,
Shuangyashan
Shuangyashan () is a coal mining prefecture-level city located in the eastern part Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China, bordering Russia's Khabarovsk and Primorsky Krais to the east. The city's name means a pair-of-ducks mountains ...
,
Hegang
Hegang (, also known as Heli and Xingshan), is a prefecture-level city in Heilongjiang province of the People's Republic of China, situated in the southeastern section of the Lesser Khingan Range, facing Jiamusi across the Songhua River to the s ...
,
Qitaihe
Qitaihe () is a prefecture-level city in eastern Heilongjiang province, China. Covering an area , it is geographically the smallest prefecture-level division of the province. Qitaihe also has the second smallest population of the cities in Heil ...
,
Yichun, and
Heihe
Heihe (; ; Russian: Хэйхэ) is a prefecture-level city of northern Heilongjiang province, China, located on the Russian border, on the south bank of the Amur (Heilong) River, across the river from Blagoveshchensk. At the 2020 census, 1,2 ...
.
Transport
Roads
Heilongjiang boasts an extensive road network. As of October 2020, it has 165,989 km of expressways, highways and other roads. The
Beijing - Harbin Expressway is the most significant expressway corridor to the province, which begins at the Heilongjiang - Jilin border and ends within the
Harbin Ring Expressway. The
Harbin - Tongjiang Expressway runs northeast and it links far-flung counties within the jurisdiction of Harbin, Jiamusi and other major counties in Northeast Heilongjiang. Near the end of Harbin - Tongjiang Expressway,
Jiansanjiang–Heixiazi Island Expressway branches off the main expressway at Jiansanjiang and connects many state-owned farms at the far east of the province before ending near the Sino-Russian border. The
Suifenhe - Manzhouli Expressway is another major corridor, it runs southeast to northwest and connects some of the most significant population centers of the province, including Mudanjiang, Harbin, Daqing and Qiqihar, before ending at the Heilongjiang - Inner Mongolia border. The
Hegang - Dalian Expressway runs between Hegang and the Heilongjiang - Jilin border in East Heilongjiang, is another major expressway that facilitates the transportation of lumber and coal.
Railways
There are 60 railway lines of around including a section of the Asia-Europe Continental Bridge. The
Harbin–Dalian High-Speed Railway
The Harbin–Dalian high-speed railway or Hada High-Speed Railway () is a high-speed rail line connecting Harbin, Heilongjiang and Dalian, Liaoning. Construction work began on August 23, 2007 and the first commercial services began operating i ...
, completed in 2012, stretches from Harbin, Heilongjiang's capital, to
Dalian
Dalian () is a major sub-provincial port city in Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, and is Liaoning's second largest city (after the provincial capital Shenyang) and the third-most populous city of Northeast China. Located on the ...
in Liaoning province via
Changchun
Changchun (, ; ), also romanized as Ch'angch'un, is the capital and largest city of Jilin Province, People's Republic of China. Lying in the center of the Songliao Plain, Changchun is administered as a , comprising 7 districts, 1 county and 3 c ...
and
Shenyang
Shenyang (, ; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ), formerly known as Fengtian () or by its Manchu language, Manchu name Mukden, is a major China, Chinese sub-provincial city and the List of capitals in China#Province capitals, provincial capital of Lia ...
comprising 23 stops. It is expected to transport 37 million passengers per year by 2020 and 51 million by 2030.
Airports
Major airports include
Harbin Taiping International Airport
Harbin Taiping International Airport is the international airport serving Harbin, Heilongjiang Province. The airport handled 20,431,432 passengers in 2018, making it the 20th busiest airport in mainland China.
History
Harbin Taiping Airport ...
,
Qiqihar Airport,
Mudanjiang Airport,
Jiamusi Airport and
Heihe Airport
Heihe Aihui Airport is the airport serving the city of Heihe in Heilongjiang Province, China. It is not far away from Ignatyevo Airport in Blagoveshchensk, Russia.
History
In March 2016, ''China Daily'' reported that the airport had changed it ...
. Harbin International Airport is capable of handling six million passengers every year and connects to over 70 domestic and international cities.
Waterways
Tongjiang-Nizhneleninskoye railway bridge
The
Tongjiang-Nizhneleninskoye railway bridge
Tongjiang-Nizhneleninskoye railway bridge (Amur River Bridge) is an international Sino-Russian railroad bridge linking Nizhneleninskoye (in Russian: Нижнеленинское) in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast with Tongjiang (in Chinese: 同江 ...
was proposed in 2007 by
Valery Solomonovich Gurevich
Valery Solomonovich Gurevich, a Russian politicianis the vice-governor of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast.
Leadership in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast
Gurevich both organized, and participated in, the 2004 70th anniversary celebrations of the Jewish A ...
, the vice-chairman of the
Jewish Autonomous Oblast
The Jewish Autonomous Oblast (JAO; russian: Евре́йская автоно́мная о́бласть, (ЕАО); yi, ייִדישע אװטאָנאָמע געגנט, ; )In standard Yiddish: , ''Yidishe Oytonome Gegnt'' is a federal subject ...
in
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
. The railway bridge over the
Amur River
The Amur (russian: река́ Аму́р, ), or Heilong Jiang (, "Black Dragon River", ), is the world's List of longest rivers, tenth longest river, forming the border between the Russian Far East and Northeast China, Northeastern China (Inne ...
will connect Tongjiang with
Nizhneleninskoye
Nizhneleninskoye (russian: Нижнеле́нинское) is a rural locality (a '' selo'') in Leninsky District of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast. Located on the Amur River, Nizhneleninskoye is the location for the Tongjiang-Nizhneleninskoye rail ...
, a village in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast.
The Chinese portion of the bridge was finished in July 2016.
In December 2016, work began on the Russian portion of the bridge. Completion of structural link between the two sides of the bridge was completed in March 2019. Opening to rail traffic has been repeatedly delayed, with the December 2019 estimate being "the end of 2020", and then 3rd quarter of 2021.
Administrative divisions
Heilongjiang is divided into thirteen
prefecture-level divisions: twelve
prefecture-level cities
A prefecture-level city () or prefectural city is an administrative division of the People's Republic of China (PRC), ranking below a province and above a county in China's administrative structure.
During the Republican era, many of China' ...
(including a
sub-provincial city
A sub-provincial division () in China is a prefecture-level city governed by a province promoted by half a level. Thus, it is half a level under the provincial level (hence the name sub-provincial) but half a level above the prefecture-level.
T ...
) and one
prefecture
A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...
:
(Additional information regarding the last prefecture can be found at
Greater Khingan
The Greater Khingan Range or Da Hinggan Range (; IPA: ), is a -long volcanic mountain range in the Inner Mongolia region of Northeast China.
It was originally called the Xianbei Mountains, which later became the name of the northern branch of th ...
.)
These 13 prefecture-level divisions are subdivided into 128
county-level divisions (65
district
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...
s, 20
county-level cities
A county-level municipality (), county-level city or county city, formerly known as prefecture-controlled city (1949–1970: ; 1970–1983: ), is a county-level administrative division of the People's Republic of China. County-level ...
, 42
counties
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
, and one
autonomous county
Autonomous counties () and autonomous banners () are county-level autonomous administrative divisions of China. The two are essentially identical except in name.
There are 117 autonomous counties and three autonomous banners. The latter are fo ...
). Those are in turn divided into 1,284
township-level divisions
The administrative divisions of China have consisted of several levels since ancient times, due to China's large population and geographical area. The constitution of China provides for three levels of government. However in practice, there a ...
(473
town
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an ori ...
s, 400
township
A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries.
Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...
s, 58
ethnic township
The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star.
Computer scientists and mathematicians often voc ...
s, and 353
subdistrict A subdistrict or sub-district is an administrative division that is generally smaller than a district.
Equivalents
* Administrative posts of East Timor, formerly Portuguese-language
* Kelurahan, in Indonesia
* Mukim, a township in Brunei, In ...
s).
Urban areas
Politics
List of Secretaries of the
Chinese Communist Party
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victoriou ...
Heilongjiang Committee:
#
Zhang Qilong
Zhang Qilong (; 1900 – June 3, 1987) was a People's Republic of China politician. He was born in Liuyang, Hunan Province. He joined the Chinese Communist Party in 1926 and participated in the Autumn Harvest Uprising of 1927. He was a member of ...
(; 1949–1950)
#
Zhao Dezun
Zhao Dezun (1913 – February 1, 2012) was a People's Republic of China politician. He was born in Liaozhong County, Fengtian Province (now part of Shenyang, Liaoning Province). He was Communist Party of China Committee Secretary and Governor of H ...
(; 1950–1953)
#
Feng Jixin
Feng Jixin () (1915–2005) was a People's Republic of China politician. He was born in Jinzhai County, Anhui Province. A member of the New Fourth Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War, he was sent to Nenjiang Province (now part of Heilongjiang ...
(; 1953–1954)
#
Ouyang Qin
Ouyang Qin () (1900 – May 15, 1978) original name Yang Qing (), was a People's Republic of China politician. He was born in Ningxiang County, Hunan Province and educated in Changsha. His parents died when he was young. In 1926, he participated ...
(; 1954–1965)
#
Pan Fusheng
Pan Fusheng (; December 1908 – April 1980) was a Chinese Communist Party, Chinese Communist revolutionary and politician. He was the first Chinese Communist Party Committee Secretary, party secretary of the short-lived Pingyuan Province of t ...
(; 1965–1971)
#
Wang Jiadao
Wang Jiadao () (1916–1992) was a People's Liberation Army major general and People's Republic of China politician. He was born in Huoqiu County, Anhui Province. As a member of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, he participated in the Lo ...
(; 1971–1974)
#
Liu Guangtao
/ ( or ) is an East Asian surname. pinyin: in Mandarin Chinese, in Cantonese. It is the family name of the Han dynasty emperors. The character originally meant 'kill', but is now used only as a surname. It is listed 252nd in the classic text ...
(; 1977)
#
Yang Yichen (; 1977–1983)
#
Li Li'an
Li, li, or LI may refer to:
Businesses and organizations
* Landscape Institute, a British professional body for landscape architects
* Leadership Institute, a non-profit organization located in Arlington, Virginia, US, that teaches "political tec ...
(; 1983–1985)
#
Sun Weiben (; 1985–1994)
#
Yue Qifeng
Yue Qifeng () (December 1931 – March 24, 2008) was a People's Republic of China politician. He was born in Daming County, Hebei Province. In January 1945, at the age of 13, he joined the Chinese Communist Party
The Chinese Communist Party (C ...
(; 1994–1997)
#
Xu Youfang (; 1997–2003)
#
Song Fatang
Song Fatang (born December 1940) is a politician of the People's Republic of China and former governor and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Party Committee Secretary of Heilongjiang.
Song is a native of Tancheng County, Shandong. He joined the CCP ...
(; 2003–2005)
#
Qian Yunlu
Qian Yunlu (; born October 1944) is a retired Chinese politician. He served as the Communist Party chief of Heilongjiang province in Northeastern China and Guizhou province in Southwest China. He also served as Governor of Guizhou.
Qian Yunlu ...
(; 2005–2008)
#
Ji Bingxuan
Ji Bingxuan (; born November 1951) is a Chinese politician. Since 2013, he has served as one of the Vice Chairmen of the 12th Standing Committee of the National People's Congress. From 2008 to 2013, he held the highest post in Heilongjiang provin ...
(; 2008–2013)
#
Wang Xiankui
Wang Xiankui (; born July 1952) is a Chinese politician best known for his terms as governor, then Communist Party Secretary of Heilongjiang, a province in the northeast part of the country. Wang worked in various capacities in the railway syste ...
(; March 2013 – April 2017)
#
Zhang Qingwei
Zhang Qingwei (; born 7 November 1961) is a Chinese politician, business executive, and aerospace engineer who is the current Communist Party Secretary of Hunan, in office since 18 October 2021. He was Communist Party Secretary of Heilongjiang, ...
(; April 2017 – October 2021)
#
Xu Qin
Xu Qin (; born October 1961) is a Chinese politician, and the current Communist Party Secretary of Heilongjiang. Previously he had served as governor of Hebei, and before that, mayor, then party chief of Shenzhen, China's most prominent specia ...
(; October 2021 - present)
List of Governors:
#
Yu Yifu
Yu Yifu () (May 19, 1903 – June 11, 1982), original name Yu Chengze (), was a People's Republic of China politician. He was born in Shuangchengbao, Jilin Province. He attended Tongji University. He was governor of Heilongjiang
Heilongjiang ...
(; 1949–1952)
#
Zhao Dezun
Zhao Dezun (1913 – February 1, 2012) was a People's Republic of China politician. He was born in Liaozhong County, Fengtian Province (now part of Shenyang, Liaoning Province). He was Communist Party of China Committee Secretary and Governor of H ...
(; 1952–1953)
#
Chen Lei (; 1953–1954)
#
Han Guang
Han Guang (died 206 BC) was the ruler of the Kingdom of Liaodong () of the Eighteen Kingdoms during the Chu–Han Contention, an interregnum between the Qin and Han dynasties of China.
Han Guang was initially a minor official serving in the ...
(; 1954–1956)
#
Ouyang Qin
Ouyang Qin () (1900 – May 15, 1978) original name Yang Qing (), was a People's Republic of China politician. He was born in Ningxiang County, Hunan Province and educated in Changsha. His parents died when he was young. In 1926, he participated ...
(; 1956–1958)
#
Li Fanwu
Li Fanwu () (May 3, 1912 – 1986) original name Li Fude (), also known as Zhang Song (), was a People's Republic of China politician. He was born in Muling, Mudanjiang, Heilongjiang Province. He was governor of his home province. He was a delega ...
(; 1958–1966)
#
Pan Fusheng
Pan Fusheng (; December 1908 – April 1980) was a Chinese Communist Party, Chinese Communist revolutionary and politician. He was the first Chinese Communist Party Committee Secretary, party secretary of the short-lived Pingyuan Province of t ...
(; 1967–1971)
#
Wang Jiadao
Wang Jiadao () (1916–1992) was a People's Liberation Army major general and People's Republic of China politician. He was born in Huoqiu County, Anhui Province. As a member of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, he participated in the Lo ...
(; 1971–1974)
#
Liu Guangtao
/ ( or ) is an East Asian surname. pinyin: in Mandarin Chinese, in Cantonese. It is the family name of the Han dynasty emperors. The character originally meant 'kill', but is now used only as a surname. It is listed 252nd in the classic text ...
(; February 1977 – December 1977)
#
Yang Yichen (; December 1977 – 1979)
#
Chen Lei (; 1979–1985)
#
Hou Jie
Hou Jie () (1931–2000) was a People's Republic of China politician. He was born in Luan County, Hebei Province. He was governor of Heilongjiang
Heilongjiang () formerly romanized as Heilungkiang, is a province in northeast China. The stand ...
(; 1985–1989)
#
Shao Qihui
Shao Qihui (; born June 1934) is a Chinese engineer and politician who served as governor of Heilongjiang from 1989 to 1994.
He was a representative of the 13th and 14th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party. He was a member of the ...
(; 1989–1994)
#
Tian Fengshan
Tian Fengshan (; born October 1940 in Zhaoyuan County, Heilongjiang) is a former Chinese politician who was convicted of corruption and sentenced to life in prison.
Biography
Tian became a member of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in 1970.
...
(; 1994–2000)
#
Song Fatang
Song Fatang (born December 1940) is a politician of the People's Republic of China and former governor and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Party Committee Secretary of Heilongjiang.
Song is a native of Tancheng County, Shandong. He joined the CCP ...
(; 2000–2003)
#
Zhang Zuoji
Zhang Zuoji (18 January 1945 – 11 June 2021) was a Chinese politician and the former governor of Heilongjiang. He also served as the director of the economic committee of the 11th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).
...
(; 2003 – December 2007)
#
Li Zhanshu
Li Zhanshu (; born August 30, 1950) is a Chinese politician, and the current outgoing chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, the Chinese Speaker. He was the third-ranking member of the Politburo Standing Committe ...
(; December 2007 – August 2010)
#
Wang Xiankui
Wang Xiankui (; born July 1952) is a Chinese politician best known for his terms as governor, then Communist Party Secretary of Heilongjiang, a province in the northeast part of the country. Wang worked in various capacities in the railway syste ...
(; August 2010 – March 2013)
#
Lu Hao (; March 2013 – March 2018)
#
Wang Wentao
Wang Wentao (; born May 1964) is a Chinese politician who has been Minister of Commerce since December 2020. He formerly served as Communist Party Secretary of Jinan and Deputy Party Secretary of Shandong province.
Career
Wang was born in 1964 ...
(; March 2018 – December 2020)
#
Hu Changsheng
Hu Changsheng (; born December 1963) is a Chinese politician currently serving as Communist Party Secretary of Gansu. He joined the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in January 1986, and entered the workforce in July of that same year. He is an al ...
(; February 2021 – present)
Economy
Heilongjiang's GDP has been rising steadily since 2003, growing 37% from 2003 to 2007. The value of the private economy reached RMB234 billion in 2006 and accounted for 37.6 percent of the GDP. In that year, the tax revenue from private enterprises hit RMB20.5 billion.
Private enterprises in Heilongjiang led the overall economic growth of the province. Many leading private enterprises have begun to emerge. The province's three major private enterprises, namely the Heilongjiang Sunflower Medicine Ltd, Qitaihe Yidaxin Coal Co., and Heilongjiang Yiyang Group, each contributed more than RMB100 million in
tax revenue
Tax revenue is the income that is collected by governments through taxation. Taxation is the primary source of government revenue. Revenue may be extracted from sources such as individuals, public enterprises, trade, royalties on natural resou ...
in 2007.
During the first decade of this century, many private investors were involved in large construction projects in Heilongjiang. In 2006, 928 large projects absorbed private capital of RMB5 million each, and 101 projects attracted RMB100 million each within the province. In line with the central government's policy to revitalize the Northeast, Heilongjiang also restructured its six pillar industries, namely equipment manufacturing, petrochemicals, food processing, energy, pharmaceuticals, and
forest
A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...
and
timber processing.
In 2017, Heilongjiang's nominal GDP was 1.62 trillion yuan (ca. US$240 billion), with an annual growth rate of 12.2%. Its per capita GDP was 42,699 yuan (US$6,324). In 2006 the per capita
disposable income
Disposable income is total personal income minus current income taxes. In national accounts definitions, personal income minus personal current taxes equals disposable personal income. Subtracting personal outlays (which includes the major c ...
of urban residents in Heilongjiang reached 11,581 yuan (US$1,667), a rise of 13% from the previous year. The per capita net income of rural residents in the province reached 4,856 yuan (US$700), a rise of 17.5% from 2007.
Agriculture
Heilongjiang is home to China's largest plantations of
rice
Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima
''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...
,
corn
Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...
and
soybeans
The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean, which has numerous uses.
Traditional unfermented food uses of soybeans include soy milk, from which tofu and ...
, with a total of of grain plantation area, including of rice plantation and of corn. Heilongjiang has vast tracts of black soil (
chernozem
Chernozem (from rus, чернозём, p=tɕɪrnɐˈzʲɵm, r=chernozyom; "black ground"), also called black soil, is a black-colored soil containing a high percentage of humus (4% to 16%) and high percentages of phosphorus and ammonia compoun ...
), one of the most fertile soil types.
Since the early 20th century, cultivation in the black soil belt has expanded by almost 100-fold, and after the 1960s agriculture in the region transformed to modern agriculture with heavy mechanization and an increase of fertilizer use.
Heilongjiang is one of the Asia's leading production areas for
japonica rice
Japonica rice (''Oryza sativa'' subsp. ''japonica''), sometimes called sinica rice, is one of the two major domestic types of Asian rice varieties. Japonica rice is extensively cultivated and consumed in East Asia, whereas in most other region ...
, known for high quality brand rice varieties.
The introduction of cold-resistant varieties, favorable policies and climate change have all contributed to a significant increase in rice production in recent years. Commercial crops grown include
beet
The beetroot is the taproot portion of a beet plant, usually known in North America as beets while the vegetable is referred to as beetroot in British English, and also known as the table beet, garden beet, red beet, dinner beet or golden beet ...
s,
flax
Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, ''Linum usitatissimum'', in the family Linaceae. It is cultivated as a food and fiber crop in regions of the world with temperate climates. Textiles made from flax are known in ...
,
sunflower
The common sunflower (''Helianthus annuus'') is a large annual forb of the genus ''Helianthus'' grown as a crop for its edible oily seeds. Apart from cooking oil production, it is also used as livestock forage (as a meal or a silage plant), as ...
s.
Heilongjiang is also an important source of lumber for China. Pine, especially the
Korean pine
''Pinus koraiensis'' is a species of pine known commonly as the Korean pine. It is native to eastern Asia: Korea, northeastern China, Mongolia, the temperate rainforests of the Russian Far East, and central Japan. In the north of its range, it g ...
and
larch
Larches are deciduous conifers in the genus ''Larix'', of the family Pinaceae (subfamily Laricoideae). Growing from tall, they are native to much of the cooler temperate northern hemisphere, on lowlands in the north and high on mountains furt ...
are the most important forms of lumber produced in Heilongjiang. Forests are mostly found in the
Greater Khingan Mountains
The Greater Khingan Range or Da Hinggan Range (; IPA: ), is a -long volcanic mountain range in the Inner Mongolia region of Northeast China.
It was originally called the Xianbei Mountains, which later became the name of the northern branch of th ...
and
Lesser Khingan Mountains
Lesser Khingan (; russian: Малый Хинган, ''Maly Khingan'') is a mountain range in China's Heilongjiang province and the adjacent parts of Russia's Amur Oblast and Jewish Autonomous Oblast. , which are also home to protected animal species such as the
Siberian tiger
The Siberian tiger or Amur tiger is a population of the tiger subspecies ''Panthera tigris tigris'' native to the Russian Far East, Northeast China and possibly North Korea. It once ranged throughout the Korean Peninsula, but currently inhabit ...
, the
red-crowned crane
The red-crowned crane (''Grus japonensis''), also called the Manchurian crane or Japanese crane (; the Chinese character '丹' means 'red', '頂/顶' means 'crown' and '鶴/鹤' means 'crane'), is a large East Asian crane among the rarest cran ...
, and the
lynx
A lynx is a type of wild cat.
Lynx may also refer to:
Astronomy
* Lynx (constellation)
* Lynx (Chinese astronomy)
* Lynx X-ray Observatory, a NASA-funded mission concept for a next-generation X-ray space observatory
Places Canada
* Lynx, Ontar ...
.
Herding in Heilongjiang is centered upon horses and cattle; the province has the largest number of milk cows and the highest production of milk among all the province-level divisions of China.
Industry
Heilongjiang is part of
northeast China
Northeast China or Northeastern China () is a geographical region of China, which is often referred to as "Manchuria" or "Inner Manchuria" by surrounding countries and the West. It usually corresponds specifically to the three provinces east of t ...
, the country's traditional industrial base. Industry is focused upon coal, petroleum, lumber, machinery, and food. Due to its location, Heilongjiang is also an important gateway for trade with
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
. Since a wave of privatization led to the closure of uncompetitive factories in the 1990s, Manchuria has suffered from stagnation. As a result, the government has started the
Revitalize Northeast China
Revitalize The Old Northeast Industrial Bases (), also Revitalize Northeast China or Northeast China Revitalization, is a policy adopted by the People's Republic of China to rejuvenate Industrial sector, industrial bases in Northeast China. The ...
campaign to deal with this problem, promoting the private sectors as the preferred method of
economic reform
Microeconomic reform (or often just economic reform) comprises policies directed to achieve improvements in economic efficiency, either by eliminating or reducing distortions in individual sectors of the economy or by reforming economy-wide polici ...
.
Petroleum
Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crud ...
is of great importance in Heilongjiang, and the
Daqing oilfields
The Daqing Oil Field (), formerly romanized as "Taching", is the largest oil field in the People's Republic of China, located between the Songhua river and Nen River in Heilongjiang province. When the Chinese government began to use to pinyin fo ...
are an important source of petroleum for China. Coal, gold, and
graphite
Graphite () is a crystalline form of the element carbon. It consists of stacked layers of graphene. Graphite occurs naturally and is the most stable form of carbon under standard conditions. Synthetic and natural graphite are consumed on large ...
are other important minerals to be found in Heilongjiang. Heilongjiang also has great potential for
wind power
Wind power or wind energy is mostly the use of wind turbines to electricity generation, generate electricity. Wind power is a popular, sustainable energy, sustainable, renewable energy source that has a much smaller Environmental impact of wi ...
, with potential capacity for 134 gigawatts of power production.
Development zones
*
Daqing
Daqing (; alternately romanized as Taching) is a prefecture-level city in the west of Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China. The name literally means "Great Celebration". Daqing is known as the "Oil Capital of China" and has experi ...
New & Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone
:Daqing New & Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone was constructed in April 1992 and was then approved as a national high-tech zone by the State Council later that year. Its initial zone area is , and it recently expanded the area by .
*
Heihe
Heihe (; ; Russian: Хэйхэ) is a prefecture-level city of northern Heilongjiang province, China, located on the Russian border, on the south bank of the Amur (Heilong) River, across the river from Blagoveshchensk. At the 2020 census, 1,2 ...
Border Economic Cooperation Area
*
Harbin
Harbin (; mnc, , v=Halbin; ) is a sub-provincial city and the provincial capital and the largest city of Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China, as well as the second largest city by urban population after Shenyang and largest ...
Economic and Technological Development Zone
*
Harbin
Harbin (; mnc, , v=Halbin; ) is a sub-provincial city and the provincial capital and the largest city of Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China, as well as the second largest city by urban population after Shenyang and largest ...
New & Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone
:Harbin High-tech Zone was set up in 1988 and was approved by the State Council as a national development zone in 1991. It has a total area of in the centralized parks, subdivided into Nangang, Haping Road and Yingbin Road Centralized Parks. The Nangang Centralized Park is designated for the incubation of high-tech projects and research and development base of enterprises as well as tertiary industries such as finance, insurance, services, catering, tourism, culture, recreation and entertainment, where the headquarters of major well-known companies and their branches in Harbin are located; the Haping Road Centralized Park is a comprehensive industrial basis for the investment projects of automobile and automobile parts manufacturing, medicines, foodstuffs, electronics, textile; the Yingbin Road Centralized Park is mainly for high-tech incubation projects, high-tech industrial development.
* Sino-Russia Dongning-Piurtaphca Trade Zone
:Sino-Russia Dongning-Piurtaphca Trade Zone was approved by the State Council in 2000 and was completed in 2005. The zone has a planned area of 275.4 hectares. The Chinese part of the zone has a 22-hectare trade center with four subsidiary areas, A, B, C, and D, in which more than 6,000 stalls are already set up, mainly dealing with clothes, household appliances, food, construction materials, etc.
*
Suifenhe
Suifenhe () is a county-level city in southeastern Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China, located where the former Chinese Eastern Railway crosses the border with Russia's town of Pogranichny, Primorsky Krai. In January 2014, Suife ...
Border Economic Cooperation Area
:Suifenhe Border Economic Cooperation District (Suifenhe BECD) is located in the north of Suifenhe City, and borders Russia to the east. Suifenhe BECD is the largest among the three state-level border-trade zones of Heilongjiang, in terms of investor numbers. Suifenhe BECD has a convenient transport network. The Binzhou-Suifenhe Railway, which connects the Russian Far East Railway, is an important port for export. The railway distance between Suifenhe and Harbin is . Buguranikinai, the corresponding Russian port city, is away.
Demographics
![China_Heilongjiang_pop_SbA5y_pyramid2019](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a1/China_Heilongjiang_pop_SbA5y_pyramid2019.png)
The majority of Heilongjiang's population is
Han Chinese
The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctive va ...
, while other
ethnic minorities
The term 'minority group' has different usages depending on the context. According to its common usage, a minority group can simply be understood in terms of demographic sizes within a population: i.e. a group in society with the least number o ...
include the
Manchu
The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) and ...
s,
Koreans
Koreans ( South Korean: , , North Korean: , ; see names of Korea) are an East Asian ethnic group native to the Korean Peninsula.
Koreans mainly live in the two Korean nation states: North Korea and South Korea (collectively and simply refe ...
,
Mongol
The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member of ...
s,
Hui
The Hui people ( zh, c=, p=Huízú, w=Hui2-tsu2, Xiao'erjing: , dng, Хуэйзў, ) are an East Asian ethnoreligious group predominantly composed of Chinese-speaking adherents of Islam. They are distributed throughout China, mainly in the n ...
,
Xibe, and
Hezhen
The Nanai people are a Tungusic people of East Asia who have traditionally lived along Heilongjiang (Amur), Songhuajiang (Sunggari) and Wusuli River on the Middle Amur Basin. The ancestors of the Nanai were the Jurchens of northernmost Manch ...
.
Excludes members of the
People's Liberation Army
The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...
in active service.
Source:
Religion
Most of Heilongjiang's residents are either non-religious or practice
Chinese folk religion
Chinese folk religion, also known as Chinese popular religion comprehends a range of traditional religious practices of Han Chinese, including the Chinese diaspora. Vivienne Wee described it as "an empty bowl, which can variously be filled ...
s, including
Taoism
Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of Philosophy, philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of China, Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmo ...
.
Manchu shamanism
Manchu folk religion or Manchu traditional religion is the ethnic religion practiced by most of the Manchu people, the major- Tungusic group, in China. It can also be called Manchu shamanism by virtue of the word "shaman" being originally from Tu ...
is practiced by many
Manchu people
The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) and Q ...
.
Chinese Buddhism
Chinese Buddhism or Han Buddhism ( zh, s=汉传佛教, t=漢傳佛教, p=Hànchuán Fójiào) is a Chinese form of Mahayana Buddhism which has shaped Chinese culture in a wide variety of areas including art, politics, literature, philosophy, ...
and
Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...
have an important presence in the province.
Culture
Heilongjiang's culture is part of a
culture of Northeast China that is relatively homogeneous across this region, known in Mandarin Chinese as "Dongbei" (the northeast).
Media
Heilongjiang Television
Heilongjiang Television (HLJTV, ), is a television network in the Heilongjiang province of China. The Heilongjiang Television and Radio Broadcast Center is located in the Long Ta (Dragon Tower). It is associated with Long Guang
Long Guang () ...
and
Harbin Economy Radio
Long Guang (), which stands for ''Dragon Broadcast'', is the radio station group that was once the Harbin Ren Min Guangbo Dian Tai (), translated as ''Heilongjiang People's Broadcasting Station'', which consists of several radio stations broadcas ...
serve as broadcasters.
Tourism
![Harbin Siberian Tiger Park 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a1/Harbin_Siberian_Tiger_Park_2.JPG)
Harbin, the provincial capital, is a city of contrasts, with Chinese,
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
n, and eclectic worldwide influences clearly apparent.
Bukui Mosque
Bukui Mosque () is a mosque in Qiqihar, Heilongjiang, China. It is located in Mosque Road () off Bukui Street. It was built during the Qing dynasty, and listed in 2006 as a Major Site to Be Protected for Its Historical and Cultural Value at the ...
, a national heritage site, is the largest glazed-tile building in the province.
Eastern Orthodox
Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism.
Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...
,
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
, and
Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
churches as well as
synagogue
A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...
s dot the city.
The long, cold winter is the backdrop for its famed
ice sculpture
Ice sculpture is a form of sculpture that uses ice as the raw material. Sculptures from ice can be abstract or realistic and can be functional or purely decorative. Ice sculptures are generally associated with special or extravagant events because ...
exhibitions. In 2007 already the 8th Ice and Snow World opened to visitors in Harbin. More than 2,000
ice sculpture
Ice sculpture is a form of sculpture that uses ice as the raw material. Sculptures from ice can be abstract or realistic and can be functional or purely decorative. Ice sculptures are generally associated with special or extravagant events because ...
s were on display at the annual event.
Wudalianchi Lakes are a series of five lakes formed between 1719 and 1721 when volcanic eruption shaped one section of a tributary of the
Amur
The Amur (russian: река́ Аму́р, ), or Heilong Jiang (, "Black Dragon River", ), is the world's List of longest rivers, tenth longest river, forming the border between the Russian Far East and Northeast China, Northeastern China (Inne ...
into five interconnected lakes. The second lake in particular is renowned for its irregular geological sights.
Lake Jingbo, in
Ning'an
Ning'an () is a city located approximately southwest of Mudanjiang, in the southeast of Heilongjiang province, China, bordering Jilin province to the south. It is located on the Mudanjiang River (formerly known as Hurka River), which flows north, ...
County, is a section of the
Mudan River
The Mudan River (; IPA: ; ) is a river in Heilongjiang province in China. It is a right tributary of the Sunggari River.
Its modern Chinese name can be translated as the "Peony River". In the past it was also known as the Hurka or Hurha River ...
that has been narrowed and shaped by volcanic eruption into a series of sights, including the
Diaoshuilou Falls.
The province has a
zoo
A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility in which animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for Conservation biology, conservation purposes.
The term ''zoological g ...
logical park called "
Harbin Siberian Tiger Park".
Colleges and universities
*
Northeast Forestry University
Northeast Forestry University (NEFU; ), located in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, is an institution of higher education and research under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China. It serves as the largest ...
*
Harbin Institute of Technology
Harbin Institute of Technology (; abbreviation: HIT or ) is a public research university and a member of China's elite C9 League and a member of the University Alliance of the Silk Road. HIT is a Chinese Ministry of Education Class A Doubl ...
*
Harbin Engineering University
Harbin Engineering University (HEU; ) was founded in 1953 in Harbin, China. It offers more than 150-degree programs, 48 of which are conducted in English.
Designated a Double First Class University and a former Project 211 university, HEU is ...
*
Northeast Agricultural University
Northeast Agricultural University (NEAU; ) was established in 1948 in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, People's Republic of China.
It is a Chinese state Double First Class University Plan university, identified by the Ministry of Education. NEAU i ...
*
Harbin University of Science and Technology
Harbin University of Science and Technology () is a university in Harbin, China. Previously known as Harbin University of Science and Technology (). It is colloquially known as Hakeda (), or Harbin Institute of Electrical Technology(). It is collo ...
*
Heilongjiang University
University of Heilongjiang () is a national university in the city of Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, People's Republic of China.
The university was established in March 1941, in the revolutionary base area of the Chinese Communist Revolution ...
*
Heilongjiang International University
Heilongjiang International University (), formerly known as Star College of Harbin Normal University is a university located in Harbin, Heilongjiang, China.
Heilongjiang International University is situated in Jiangbei, north of the city centre ...
*
Heilongjiang Institute of Technology
Heilongjiang () formerly romanized as Heilungkiang, is a province in northeast China. The standard one-character abbreviation for the province is (). It was formerly romanized as "Heilungkiang". It is the northernmost and easternmost province ...
*
Harbin Medical University
Harbin Medical University (HMU) () is a public university located in Harbin, Heilongjiang, China.
HMU is appointed as a national education and training base for biomedical scientists and teaching talents by the National Bureau of Advanced Healt ...
*
Daqing Staff and Workers University
*
Northeast Petroleum University
Northeast Petroleum University () is a national key institution of higher learning in Daqing, Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China.
History
The institute was founded in 1960, formerly called Northeast Petroleum Institute (). In 1975 ...
*
Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine
Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine () is a public medical university in Harbin, China
Harbin (; mnc, , v=Halbin; ) is a sub-provincial city and the provincial capital and the largest city of Heilongjiang province, People's Repub ...
*
Heilongjiang Commercial University
*
Harbin Normal University
Harbin Normal University (HNU) () is a university located in Harbin, Heilongjiang province.
HNU has 27 Schools and Departments and offers 77 academic majors. It offers undergraduate, graduate, and doctorate degrees. It is a key university of Heil ...
*
Heilongjiang August First Land Reclamation University
Heilongjiang () formerly romanized as Heilungkiang, is a province in northeast China. The standard one-character abbreviation for the province is (). It was formerly romanized as "Heilungkiang". It is the northernmost and easternmost province ...
*
Qiqihar University
Sports
Heilongjiang is in the forefront of promoting winter sports and winter-featured sports industry in China. For example, it is promoting
bandy
Bandy is a winter sport and ball sport played by two teams wearing ice skates on a large ice surface (either indoors or outdoors) while using sticks to direct a ball into the opposing team's goal. The international governing body for bandy is ...
as an
Olympic sport
Olympic sports are contested in the Summer Olympic Games and Winter Olympic Games. The 2020 Summer Olympics included 33 sports; the 2022 Winter Olympics included seven sports. Each Olympic sport is represented by an international governing b ...
.
Heilongjiang Province Promotes Bandy as Olympic Sport!
/ref>
Events and leagues
* 2009 Winter Universiade
The 2009 Winter Universiade, the XXIV Winter Universiade took place in Harbin, China. Student athletes from 44 countries took part in the games.
Selection
Harbin was selected by FISU on January 10, 2005 over future 2011 Winter Universiade host c ...
* 2018 Bandy World Championship, Division B
* Asia League Ice Hockey
Asia League Ice Hockey ( ja, アジアリーグアイスホッケー; ko, 아시아리그 아이스하키) or ALIH (AL) is an association which operates a professional ice hockey league based in East Asia, with teams from Japan, South Korea, and ...
See also
* Major national historical and cultural sites in Heilongjiang
Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...
References
External links
Heilongjiang Government website
*
at HKTDC
The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is a statutory body established in 1966 as the international marketing dedicated to creating opportunities for Hong Kong's businesses. The organisation has 50 offices around the world, includin ...
Heilongjiang International University
{{Authority control
Provinces of the People's Republic of China
States and territories established in 1954
1954 establishments in China
Manchuria